how_i_met_your_motherfandomcom-20200223-history
The Front Porch
Recap The episode begins with Robin asking her friends if they would watch her talk show, which airs at 4 A.M. The group reluctantly agrees to stay up and watch. Ted then turns up and informs them that Karen has broken up with him, after finding Robin's earring in Ted's bed, thinking that he and Robin had sex. As everyone prepares to watch Robin's show, Ted discovers another earring of Robin's on Marshall's dresser and mutes the television to confront Marshall, believing him to have sabotaged his relationship with Karen. As extreme events occur on Robin's show (she starts crying while showing a picture of the gang, she saves the host of the cooking segment when he catches fire, she resuscitates the weatherman after he's had a heart attack and finally she delivers a baby live on camera), still muted, Lily confesses that she has been breaking Ted up with girls who she didn't see passing the "Front Porch Test" - an indication of how they would all live together once they were old. A scene is shown of Marshall, Lily, and Ted in the far future playing bridge (though clearly, none of them know how to play). Lily says she never did this with any woman who could possibly have become the mother of Ted's children, such as Stella and Victoria, but hesitates when Ted adds Robin to this list. Lily admits she foresaw a horrible front porch with Robin, Ted unhappy about the two children he never had and Robin angry about the career she lost. Lily says she never intended to break them up, but accidentally gave them the words they used in their eventual breakup. Robin returns from the show, dismayed to find none of them saw her eventful show, and learns the truth behind her break-up with Ted which Lily insists she did not want to happen. Ted is furious and storms out. The next day, Ted heads into the bar to find Karen waiting, having had the situation explained to her by Lily. Karen hands Ted a letter from Lily, which contains an apology, and lets Ted know that Lily has prepared a fine dinner in The Apartment for him and Karen. However Karen then tells him he can never see Lily again, and Ted conducts the "Front Porch Test" himself as he imagines life without Marshall and Lily in it. Ted then breaks up with Karen, with Future Ted stating that he realized at that point how much it matters that his girlfriend likes his friends, rather than vice versa. Returning to the apartment, Ted asks Robin to be his "plus one" and they enjoy the meal Lily prepared. They wonder whether or not they would still be together if not for Lily's intervention. Ted then makes a mock proposal to Robin, asking her to be his "backup wife" and marry him if they're both single when they turn 40. She accepts. Meanwhile, Marshall wears a nightshirt to the pajama party, while Barney wears a silk suit. Barney insists his clothing choice is superior, citing the possibility of attractive women coming to his home at night and seeing how good he looks, but then admits how unlikely that is and uncomfortable the "suitjamas" are. Marshall then convinces Barney to try one. Barney and Marshall delight in their nightshirts, having a dream about flying together in them. Barney starts wearing nightshirts to sleep. A week later, an attractive woman does indeed show up at his apartment at night — but, upon seeing his nightshirt, she decides to leave, much to Barney's chagrin. Continuity *Lily's painting from is sitting above the fireplace in Lily and Marshall's apartment. * Marshall calls out "Bridge!" when he wins the game in Lily's imagining of the Front Porch, referencing his uncanny ability to win at games first mentioned in , where he was also seen unnecessarily calling out the names of games he won ("Poker!"). *Lily's interference causes the fight between Ted and Robin that led to their break-up, shown in . *Marshall appears to dislike the scenario of Ted and Robin getting married and her beating him at bridge. Marshall is a sore loser in . * The picture Robin is showing at the beginning of her show is the one taken in . *Lily describes Ted as a "commitment junkie". He declares his love to Robin the night they meet in , and proposes to Stella in so quickly that his friends consider using the Intervention banner. *Barney's bedroom still has a King-sized bed with only one blanket as shown in World's Greatest Couple, however this time he's sleeping on the left side of the bed Future References (Contains Spoilers) * depicts another example of Lily's disinterest in Star Wars. shows that she never attends the guys' movie marathons. *Lily sabotaging Ted's previous relationships is referenced again in , where Ted and Marshall suspect that Robin and Barney are miserable together, and enlist Lily's help in breaking them up. *Barney attempts to make a deal with Robin to get married if they're both single at 40 in The Rough Patch, before she reminds him of her pact with Ted. Ted and Robin also refer to their pact in , and it is dissolved in , but Robin mentions it again in 2020 in a deleted scene in . *The combination of the nightshirt and hearing Marshall talk about "unconditional love" causes Barney to be uncharacteristically wistful about marriage. He soon begins secretly dating Robin, his first serious relationship since Shannon in 1998. *Ted again chooses his friend over his girlfriend in . *While the gang fails to watch Robin's show here, they eventually do in , convincing her to quit smoking for a time. *A very unflattering picture of Marshall with Lily from their wedding can be seen in their apartment. Marshall's inability to take a good photo is discussed in . *Robin mentions a film strip of North Korean dictator riding a horse through a field, which she also brings up in . * In , Robin mentions that she delivered 12 babies, and one of them was human. Robin is seen delivering her pregnant guest's baby during the episode of Come On, Get Up New York! ''shown here. * Ted's failed relationship with Karen will be mentioned again in ''Sunrise when Robin said she was Ted's 3rd worst relationship. Gallery bpj.PNG|Barney in his suit pajamas Te.PNG|Ted finding Robin's earring on Marshall's drawers ohimym.PNG|Karen's scenario of "The Front Porch" ohiymm1.PNG|Robin's Scenario on "The Front Porch" drt.PNG|Lily's Dinner for Ted & Robin tedfurioustfps4a.jpg|Ted is furious at Lily for interfering. tedfurioustfps4b.jpg|After hearing that Lily interfered in his lovelife...Ted is furious at her! Memorable Quotes Notes and Trivia Goofs and Errors *The photo of the gang Robin displays on her show is the photo supposedly taken a year after . The timing is off as this is only five months after her decision to move to Japan. *When Robin is talking about the channel with Kim Jong-Il riding a horse, you see Barney take attention. However, when the next shot comes around, you can clearly see Barney giving the same reaction. This means that when the two takes were shot, Barney executed the expression later and, therefore, was shown giving the same reaction again a second later. *Lily is surprised to see that Barney sleeps in suitjamas, and Barney claims to have always slept in them saying "Of course, what do you think I sleep in?" but in Barney and Lily share a bed, and Barney sleeps shirtless. *Marshall refers to Karen as "the first person to touch his (Ted's) wiener besides himself, his mom and his pediatrician". However, Ted's first sexual partner was Molly, as seen in a flashback scene in . **It is possible that though Karen was not who Ted "scored a homerun" with, he may have reached the other bases with her. Allusions and Outside References *When Marshall is stating the 5 reasons why he wears a night shirt to bed instead of pajamas, the brief dream sequence of him flying is a reference to the film , except the main character flies on a carpet. *When Lily is confronted by Ted regarding her role in breaking up his relationships, the encounter is a reference to and in the film . *When Barney sees Marshall in his night shirt he makes some references to characters from , , and . *In one flashback, apparently taking place in 2002, Lily disguises herself as to end one of Ted's many relationships. Ted is dressed as and Marshall as . All of this happened while the duo was waiting in line to see . *During the same flashback, Lily says "Live Long And Prosper" which is the famous line by from . Music *Man in Me - Other Notes *Craig Thomas invented the scene where Marshall is flying above New York during a pee on the Writer's Floor urinal. Guests *Laura Prepon - Karen *Jessica Anderson - Hot Woman #3 *Italia Ricci - Hot Woman #1 *Nikki BreAnne Wells - Hot Woman #2 Reception * Donna Bowman of gave the episode an A grade. http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-front-porch,25190/ * Michelle Zoromski of gave the episode 8.9 out of 10. http://tv.ign.com/articles/963/963485p1.html * Cindy McLennan of gave the episode a A+ grade. http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/how_i_met_your_mother/the_front_porch_1.php * The St. Petersburg Comic Review gave this episode 8 out of 10 stars. "Awesome TV action while none of the group cares at all." References External Links * * * Category:Episodes Category:Season 4